Should I eat arginine before or after exercising

Arginine is suitable to be taken 30-60 minutes before exercise, which can help improve athletic performance and muscle pumping sensation. The mechanism of action of arginine mainly includes promoting nitric oxide synthesis, improving blood flow supply, delaying fatigue, accelerating recovery, and enhancing immunity. As a semi essential amino acid, arginine supplementation before exercise can dilate blood vessels by increasing nitric oxide levels, allowing muscles to receive more oxygen and nutrient delivery during training. This vasodilation effect is particularly important for strength trainers, as it can significantly improve congestion and endurance performance during training. supplementing with arginine after exercise mainly plays a repairing role, as it participates in protein metabolism and growth hormone secretion, and can help repair muscle tissue. But at this time, the body's absorption efficiency of arginine will decrease, and the protein synthesis window after exercise is more suitable for supplementing complete protein rather than single amino acids.

It is recommended to choose the timing of supplementation based on the training objectives. For muscle building individuals, it is recommended to use it before exercise, while for weight loss individuals, a small amount of supplementation is sufficient after exercise. It should be noted that the single intake should not exceed 5 grams to avoid gastrointestinal discomfort. Long term use should be combined with vitamin B6 to improve utilization, and those with renal dysfunction should use it under the guidance of a doctor. Nuts, seafood, lean meat and other foods in daily diet also contain natural arginine, which can be used as a dietary supplement source.